assignment to finish tonight, he thought, and Nathan’s wedding tomorrow. He figured, with luck, he could catch up on laundry and get some rest on Sunday.
I don’t remember leaving the lights on, or the curtains closed. Paulie frowned as he quickened his pace to the front door. It wasn’t fully dark yet, but the sun was setting. Paulie’s tiger stirred restlessly under his skin, as he fumbled for his key. But before he could get it into the lock, the door opened.
“Allow me.”
Paulie’s eyes widened so far, he thought they’d fall out. There was a god, standing in his doorway and oh, my gods, what a picture he made. Soft jeans clung to well formed thighs, feet bare, but it was the top half that filled Paulie’s mouth with saliva. The god was wearing a leather waistcoat, no shirt, and Paulie’s tiger internally roared in approval at the sight of his mating mark glistening under the light.
Zeus. My gods, he’s here.
For a long moment, the two men just stared at each other, the air thickening between them. Then, as though moving was an effort, Zeus stepped back. “You should come inside,” he suggested.
Feeling as though he was in a dream world, Paulie stepped inside, slinging his backpack from his shoulder and resting it on the floor. It was immediately apparent Zeus had an eye for interior decorating. His once bland and functional apartment was now brimming with color, from a new red couch that dominated the living space, to the paintings on the walls. A computer, not his crummy laptop, was set up on a new desk shoved into the corner of the room, and there was even a huge television where his small one used to be.
Paulie sniffed. Someone had been cooking too, and all of a sudden he was ravenous. But he wasn’t sure why his very welcome but unexpected guest was in his apartment, so he said the first thing that came into his head. “Did you cook dinner for us?”
Zeus snorted although he didn’t go anywhere near the kitchen. He was still hovering, just on the edge of Paulie’s personal space. “You’re the second person to mention me and cooking in the same sentence in the past two days. I’m starting to wonder if it’s something I should learn. But no, I don’t cook, but I did arrange food for us, if you’re hungry.”
“I am.” Paulie nodded, still feeling a bit tongue-tied. “I haven’t been eating much, since… you know.” He gestured at Zeus’s shoulder. “I feel really bad about that. I had no right.”
“Meh.” Zeus shrugged. “I’ve behaved badly a lot in the past. I guessed the Fates decided this situation was their idea of payback.”
“You didn’t want to be mated to anyone, especially me.” As much as Paulie longed to believe his mate was in his apartment of his own free will, that was too much of a leap for his mind to make. “I had no right to bind you to me like that.”
“Hold up.” Zeus lifted his finger. “I admit, the circumstances weren’t ideal, but what you overheard was more verbal habit than truth. I’m sure I’ll be more than happy to be mated to you.”
I’m definitely in a twilight zone. “I don’t understand. How could you be happy about being stuck with me for eternity? There’s nothing special about me at all.”
“How about,” and Zeus came closer this time, Paulie finding himself steered in the direction of the kitchen. “How about we enjoy some of this food and talk while we’re eating. I’ll explain, you can yell at me for behaving like a bore, and then we can get onto more interesting things like getting to know each other like mates are supposed to do.”
“Why would I yell at you?” Paulie glanced into his bedroom which had also had a godly makeover. “Is that a new bed?”
“Ah, yes, sorry about that.” Zeus didn’t sound sorry at all. “The demon Cass told me your bed was important to you, but I needed something bigger for us, when I change forms, you know.” Waving his hands, Zeus waved a large casserole dish from the oven to the table, and then clapped causing bread, spreads and condiments to appear. “Oops, forgot the plates.” A click this time and the plates appeared. “Come. Sit down. Hopefully, you like it.”
Still in a daze, Paulie sat in the chair Zeus pulled out for him, his mind still on the new bed. Zeus plans on sharing it with